Four Roses
by CalgaryCowgirl
Summary: Sixth year at Hogwarts and Draco has never felt more alone, never felt more insignificant. Somehow he must find a way to murder his headmaster to ensure the safety of his family. But Death is never more vindictive than when someone deigns meddle in his affairs and so has sent Cassandra Ravenblood, a student of his from Ravenwood. How will she change the course of things to come?
1. Maddness in the Night

It was moments like these that brought to light just how hard life could suck. Really; this past week in particular, with all things being considered and made equal, had sucked, blown, and bitten Cassie Ravenblood in the ass with a very large set of teeth. _'It really doesn't help that my arms are killing me.'_ She growled as she shifted, pain shooting down her arms. It only took a few minutes for her to give up shifting about; well aware that there was absolutely no chance she would be able to get comfortable. Completely forgetting about the fact that her arms had been numb for hours, the rusted manacles clanking above Cassie's head bit into the tender flesh of her wrists no matter which position she was in. _'The bruises I will have at the end of this...'_

The door to her prison opened with a very cliché ominous screech and an only slightly more original blinding flash of light (Blinding only because her cell was kept in almost absolute darkness) from the torch-lit cellar beyond. The silhouette that eventually came into focus was blessedly tall, blocking most of the light from the hall, with ridiculously frizzy hair. "Madam Lestrange, how nice of you to call." Dried drips of blood flaked off her face as Cassie made a weak attempt to smirk derisively. "A little early for your usual playtime isn't it?"

"Make no mistake filth; I will get what he wants eventually. There are far greater pains I can inflict upon you." Bellatrix hissed, her apparently constant mad rage only barely contained.

"Worse than the Cruciatus? Wasn't it you who told me that the reason it's forbidden is because it can drive a man mad with the pain?" Cassie croaked turning her head away as if in thought, but really it was just to take her eyes off the light. She had sat in the dark for so long the light was painful. "But then again your master does believe he needs me sane, has that been holding you back?" she snapped, regretting her words the instant they left her mouth as she turned into a slap so hard her head rebounded off the stone wall behind her, causing her ears to ring and the inside of her cheek to open up on her teeth.

Even with the lighting skewing her focus, Bellatrix's eyes blazed out of the darkness with an insane light. "He will have what he wants; it's only a matter of time." The smile that slowly spread across her face only added to freakish look on her face.

Cassie refused to cower, well aware that it would only feed Bellatrix's power trip. Shaking as many of the cobwebs as she could from her head, Cassie glared up at the crazy bitch. "I have told you before," she hissed. "and I will tell you again. What you are demanding cannot be done. The spell doesn't exist."

"So says the 'Master of Death'." Bellatrix replied, her tone mocking. "But according to our sources, you know every Death spell in existence. Do you think us complete fools?"

"Yes, but that's a moot point now isn't it." Cassie snapped, already wincing at the anticipated sting she would be getting for that one, but pressing onwards. "It's precisely because I know all of the spells associated with death that I can say this with such certainty. No such spell EXISTS!" she snarled, slowing her speech as though she were speaking to an idiot. _'In for a penny, in for a pound I suppose. Maybe she'll knock me out again.'_ Cassie thought, even as she watched the death eater's hand twitch. _'Then again, it seems much more likely I just signed my own death warrant.'_

"This is getting us nowhere Aunt." A cool voice replied, calmly interrupting Bellatrix's murderous path. "The Dark Lord agreed that I should have a chance to get the answers we seek."

"And just how do you think you will do that?" Bellatrix screamed, whirling about so fast that her hair created small whip marks on Cassie's cheeks. "Just how to you plan to find success where I have found none?"

"I don't have a plan Aunt." Draco replied from the shadows, his voice amazingly calm in the face of his aunt's insanity. "But given the lack of progress made up until this point, the Dark Lord agrees that having me speak to the prisoner can do no harm." Bellatrix snorted at this comment, obviously more than a little insulted, but unwilling to question her master's wishes. "Any route to obtain the Dark Lord's ends Aunt, isn't that right?" There was a long pause as the two of them seemed to have an entire conversation with their eyes before Draco finally spoke up. "I believe I asked to be left alone."

Bellatrix just sneered at him. "I will return soon Draco." Turning back to Cassie, the madwoman looked down her nose at the pathetic looking creature Cassie was sure she made. "It would be wise for you to give him the answer we seek you scum. The Dark Lord has little patience for fools like you and if you do not give him what he wants... well, I highly doubt you will enjoy the consequences."

Cassie watched the woman spin on her expensively ugly heels. She could have kept sniping at her if she had possessed the energy. Bellatrix had been her torturer for long enough that Cassie knew where more than a few of the bitch's buttons were. But the time she had spent chained up in this room had drained her of most of her energy and her desire to fight and so, she let the woman go. The slam of the door echoed slightly through the room before a stiff silence regained control.

When it became obvious that Bellatrix, for whatever reason, wasn't actually hovering outside the door listening, Draco muttered quietly and a beam of light burst from the tip of his wand. This time Cassie actively flinched, her eyes having just begun to become used to the darkness. Blinking furiously, she found herself just a little awestruck at the figure he cut. Whether it was the effect of the light on his pale form or just the fact that she hadn't seen light like this in Chronos only knew how long but the figure before her seemed to glow like a god in the little light his wand produced. Shaking her head, Cassie blinked furiously. Now was not the time to allow her brain to be addled.

Apparently Draco spotted her discomfort and set his wand on the floor, slightly lessening the strain on her eyes. "I would have thought they'd have just put the Imperius on you and been done with it." He murmured, glancing about the room.

Cassie shrugged. "They say it doesn't produce the desired effect with me. Don't ask me why, but I apparently fight the trance tooth and nail, making it so that the caster is forced to be constantly on hand to renew it. I suppose whomever was watching me at the time eventually decided it was more trouble than it was worth to keep trying. As for the rest... well, it may be cliché, but you can't deny its effectiveness. I am well and truly trussed up like a turkey." Now that her eyes had finally adjusted again, Cassie focused on Draco, a weak smile blooming gently. "Hello Draco... it's been a long time."

Surprisingly Draco actually grimaced as though she had struck him. "Yes, well, you know how it is Cassie..."

"Relax Draco." Cassie said, her smile growing slightly sad. "It wasn't said in anger. You're doing what you need to do to survive, to help your family survive."

"And what are you doing? Looks to me like you're trying to get yourself killed."

"Me, I'm just working to make sure your world survives this war. Anything else beyond that is secondary at the moment."

"So your own life isn't even a factor?" Was she going mad, or did he seem angry at that fact?

"Not really." She replied, watching his face become incredulous. "I'm a student of the death school Draco. One does not walk that path for long without fully accepting the fact that death, especially your own, is inevitable. It also doesn't hurt when your family has been involved in one conflict or another for the better part of the last century." Sighing, she shrugged. "Eventually you come to realize just how cheap life is in a war." She added, so casually it truly seemed like an afterthought.

Draco's mouth hung open in ungentlemanly disbelief. "So that's why you're doing this? Why you're holding out like this? Because life is cheap!?"

"Draco, stop." Cassie commanded, her voice surprisingly strong. "I'm noble and more than a little self-sacrificing, that doesn't mean I've a wish to meet my master before my time."

"Then why won't you tell him what he wants to know!" Draco hissed, violently leaning towards her. "Answer his questions, damnit, so I don't have to watch you die to."

"I can't do that Draco."

"Bloody hell Cassie-!"

"I said I can't Draco." She snapped, cutting him off. "Do you get what he is asking me to do? He wants me to cast a spell to command death to pass him over for the rest of eternity. I cannot do that."

"What are you talking about? You're a Master of Death."

"If I survive this, please remind me to strangle the person who gave me that title." She growled. "My powers come from serving Death, not from controlling him. I can only make the magic he allows me to. I can sap a man's strength from a thousand yards, strike fear into his heart at the sight of my master's pet. But there is no such spell to force death from making his rounds, it doesn't exist and it never will!" Sighing, Cassie leaned back against the cool wall behind her, slightly exhausted. "And setting aside that notion, even if I were able to keep Voldemort off of death's check list, it still wouldn't be the result he wants." Draco didn't even respond this time, simply glared at her, his eyes demanding. Rolling her eyes, Cassie continued. "Your master wants eternal youth; to be filled with vim and vigor until the end of time itself. Simply stopping death won't do that. No, he wouldn't die, but he would still age, would still wither away into nothing. The only difference is that now instead of being taken into death's embrace when that happens, your precious master would just become a sentient pile of dust." She paused a moment to just look at him, willing Draco to understand where his predecessors hadn't. "To obtain the effect your master wants he would need a wizard of immeasurable power who had somehow managed to find a way to control and manipulate time and I think we all know that such a creature has yet to exist."

"Not even in your worlds?" Now it was Cassie's turn to glare. Sighing, he dropped his head into his hand. "Right, as if you wouldn't have mentioned that by now." Turning to her, Draco felt his heart clench. Her mocha colored skin had taken on a sickly pallor that was only enhanced by the limp, scraggly appearance of the white head of hair that had once rivaled his with its sleek beauty. _'Not that you would know it with her keeping it tied up in that wretched ponytail.'_ He thought, a tiny smile tugging at the corner of his lip. For the briefest moment he desperately wished that she would look up at him, just so he could see those pale grey eyes of hers shining with the spirit that had made him bring her into this mess in the first place. "I'm sorry Cassie." He whispered, turning away from her. "It's my fault you're in this mess and I don't know what I should do."

"You'll do whatever it takes to get you and your family out of this alive." Cassie replied sternly. "Don't worry about me Draco, this isn't your fault. I went into this, eyes open. I could have just as easily said no when you asked me into all of this, but I didn't. What happens to me now is my doing."

"Do you not get it Ravenblood? He will KILL you when he finally realizes you're not just holding out to be noble."

"And those are the consequences of my choice." She replied calmly, fairly certain she was aggravating him even further wither somewhat cavalier attitude, but he needed to be focused. "Draco please, you've trusted me this far, trust me just a little further. There are things in motion that even I can't understand. I need to be here, exactly as I am, so that things can go along as they need to. You need to do everything you have to so your family survives. Forget I existed if that makes it any easier, but you have keep going exactly as you have been." He had to survive this war; there was no other way this could go down. Not if Cassie had any say about it. She had advantages on her side that no one but Professor Ambrose was aware of, demons and angels under her master's command that she could call on, he didn't.

Draco stared at her a moment, as though he couldn't believe what he was hearing, something she wasn't surprised about given what she was saying. "Forget you existed? Do you hear yourself?" he asked, his voice rising in anger. Turning away from her, Draco tried to get a hold of himself before the guards roaming the headquarters came running. "I brought you into this Ravenblood." He said, his tone strained. "I don't want to watch you die."

Cassie smiled softly, marveling at the stubborn strength Draco possessed. "I don't think you'll have to Draco. I can't say anything right now, but please, just trust me. We will get out if this. Now go." She said, jerking her head towards the door. "Get out of here. They can't think that we're friends or they will try and use you to get me to tell them what they want to hear or use your mother to get you to tell them what you know." Taking a breath, Cassie blinked rapidly, trying to keep the desperate tears from falling. "Go Draco. Leave, and don't ever come back."

Draco just stared at her, a dubious look in his eyes. "I can't believe you." He hissed, snatching up his wand and spinning on his heel.

Cassie watched him go, a little sad that she had to piss him off to get him to do what needed to be done. She couldn't leave it like this. "Draco?"

His hand on the doorknob, Draco snarled silently. She had wanted him to go, so why in the hell wasn't she just letting him go. "What?" he snapped.

Cassie flinched slightly at his tone, but still refused to let the tears fall. If he saw her crying, there was no way in hell a gentleman like Draco would leave her like this. "Stay safe." She whispered, feeling slightly ashamed at the inadequacy of her words. There was so much more she wanted to say, but those were all the words that seemed to come. "Please stay safe."

There was a moment where neither of them moved, a moment that seemed almost suspended in time. Each of them seemed to have a small epiphany concerning the other, one that neither of them felt able to share at the moment, each praying that there would be a future where they would be able to share them. Finally shaking himself free of his thoughts, Draco steeled himself and stormed out of the room, determined to honor Cassie's wishes to the fullest.

Cassie watched him go, feeling the slam of the door echoing down to her very core. A tear finally managed to slip past her defenses and slide slowly down her face as she listened to Draco's steps fade away. She had hurt him; that she was perfectly aware of. She had hurt him and he would probably never forgive her for it. But if he made it through this, then she could live with that.

Straightening up, Cassie scrubbed her face against her shoulder, violently erasing any trace of her sorrow from her face. Bellatrix would be returning soon and it would only feed the torture if she found Cassie weeping in the darkness. Cassie held no illusions when it came to her own limitations. If Bellatrix had any inkling that Cassie was grieving over something it would take mere moments for her to discover exactly what it was and how to use it against her. And there was no way in hell Cassie was going to allow that to happen. Leaning back, Cassie thought quietly about what she had said to Draco. If given the chance, knowing what she knew now, knowing what exactly what was to come... would she have agreed to help him? She didn't know.


	2. Of Meetings and Sacrifices

**Oh good lord, I hate -I repeat- I HATE writer's block. It is an evil vile thing that no writer should have to suffer under. Logan and Don still aren't behaving and frankly, it was a pain in my arse just getting Draco to this point (He is just an uncooperative little jerk) Anyway, I'm going to keep slogging through as best I can and hopefully the others will follow. In the meantime REVIEWS! I need them to keep living through this dull, boring life I lead. ASSIST ME WITH THIS!**

**Sincerely,  
CC**

* * *

_It had all started so long ago, so simply. Was it really only less than a year ago that all of this had been set in motion? It seemed more like a lifetime ago, a millennia since she had been called to assist this world._

* * *

"You have a lovely office Professor." Cassie said as she glanced around the room she now found herself in. The walls were stacked high with bookshelves crammed full of books she was certain were very well read and objects whose purpose eluded her. It reminded her a little of the library she had set up back in her home, though just a bit finer in quality.

"Thank you my dear. It suits my purposes." As Cassie moved around the room, taking in a few of the titles before her, she could feel Dumbledore's eyes on her. She could understand why, after all, just how many students had ever entered this school, let alone this room in full body armor. She hadn't taken the time to change after returning from Dragonspyre once Professor Ambrose had asked for her help on Dumbledore's behalf. Smirking, Cassie wondered exactly what kind of sight she looked in her tarnished and filthy armor with her silent and shadowy raven clinging to her shoulder. "Perhaps once we get you sorted, you would like to clean up a bit?" Dumbledore asked, moving to a tattered old hat and removing it from the cabinet that held it.

"I would appreciate that Professor." Cassie replied, almost falling into the overstuffed chair in front of the desk, her muscles groaning in relief. For a brief moment Cassie wondered just how long it had been since she had a moment to just sit down and relax for even an instant. There was a few times, the odd instance when she had abandoned her duties for a brief respite at home, a small attempt to escape the chaos and pain and retain the sometimes tenuous grip on her sanity.

Sighing, Cassie shook her head a bit, banishing such thoughts to the back of her mind for another time. They would do her no good now. "So how does this work?" she asked, turning back to the Professor, quietly waving her hawk away as she did. "How do you sort me into your school? Professor Ambrose and Gama just asked us a series of questions to find out where we were best suited."

"We do something similar here." Dumbledore replied, bringing the hat over towards her. "But with the large volume of students we take on Hogwarts has had to become a touch more efficient in our sorting process. This is where the Sorting Hat comes in." Setting the hat down in front of her, Albus then moved around to take his seat at his desk. "When you place this hat upon your head, the hat will sift through the aspects of your personality and core character and it will place you where you are best suited, the benefit being that the hat cannot be lied to." A small, benevolent smile bloomed on Albus' face as he glanced towards the hat. "It makes things much more streamlined."

"I don't doubt it." Cassie replied reaching for the hat, but she paused, a thought occurring to her. "But does it have to look into all my thoughts?" she asked, a little concerned. There were thoughts and memories in her head that she preferred no one see. Frankly she would have preferred not to have the memory at all, but unfortunately such was the way of her life.

Dumbledore looked at her, a knowing glint in his eye. "The hat will keep any secret you have locked away in there." He said, motioning to her. "You are not the first student to have come through this school with a darker past. This hat has seen a century's worth of secrets and has held every single one within its stitches for the entirety of its lifetime." Seeing that she was still unsure, Dumbledore smiled again. "You have my word, unless it constitutes a direct threat to the school, I and every other person within this school will remain ignorant of anything in your head." Nodding, but still a little wary, Cassie reached for the hat and placed it on her head, frowning slightly at the sudden intrusion of another personality into her head.

'_Hmmmm, what have we here? You're a fair ways from home aren't you my dear.'_ The hat's voice slipped into her mind. She could feel it gently sifting through her head, but had to struggle to keep from slamming doors in the creature's face. _'Oh, a bit touchy are we?'_ the hat said as he slid over the thoughts she had been tempted to hide. Silence reigned throughout her mind as the hat did what any creature would do when told not to go somewhere. Cassie simply prayed silently that the Hat would just let it go and move forward with the sorting. She'd frankly had enough of people being shocked or pitying her for her life. _'Right then… let's see here.'_ She'd forgotten the hat could probably hear her praying. _'Quiet and unassuming, but I see great cunning here. You aren't the type to typically race into the middle of a problem and just muddle through, you plot out how to turn the situation to your advantage. You have quite the noble spirit, but… ohhhhh my, that's quite the cruel streak. Might I assume you can be quite vindictive sometimes?'_

'_You're the one in my head, you tell me.'_

'_Honestly, considering some of the things you've done in your life I can't be surprised.'_ Cassie started feeling a bit annoyed at the hat's tone. She didn't need anyone's pity! _'Hmmm, a bit of a temper to it seems.'_ The hat muttered.

'_Would you kindly just get on with it? It's been a rather long day.'_ Cassie hissed, mentally clenching her teeth.

'_As you wish, but I must tell you, you would do to tell someone about what's going on in this head of yours. If you keep this all bottled up inside, all you'll accomplish is giving yourself nightmares.'_ Cassie was about to snap at the hat, telling him to mind his own damn business, but it simply moved on. "It had best be Slytherin." The hat said, at last speaking out loud, bowing slightly to the headmaster before falling silent.

Happy to have that finished, Cassie whipped the hat from her head and passed it back to the professor. Albus in turn rose from his place and set it back in its glass enclosure. "Well then, it's a good thing Professor Snape is a bit of a night owl." He said, leaning over his desk and scribbling down a note which he then muttered a spell over. To Cassie's amusement, the note then folded itself in half and fluttered off to its recipient. "He is your head of house and will show you the way to your room. We have a ten o'clock curfew here, and you must be in your dorms by that hour unless at the behest of one of the professors." Though her face remained blank, Dumbledore must have noticed something because an amused twinkle blossomed in his eye. "A seemingly arcane rule to you, I'm sure, but it is in place for the protection of all our students. With the darkness and dangers lurking about in the world these days, we have to protect our students."

A part of Cassie wanted to scoff at him, to sharply remind him of the fact that it was he who had asked for HER help, but she held her tongue. This was a world where wizards and witches did not sort their skills into specific categories until much later in life, and did not serve the beings her schoolmates did. There were no pyromancers to summon up a volcano from hell, no sorcerers to call forth a god of the ancient world, and there certainly wasn't anything like her to be found here. This rule might be slightly insulting to her, but it protected the other students here, so there really was no reason for her to object. So she simply nodded.

Dumbledore smiled. "Marvelous. Now, I have taken the liberty of purchasing you a trunk and the supplies you will need for the school year. Now, I meant to ask prior to this, but sadly, there was no time. Did you have a chance to take a look at the electives we are offering for the year? Professor Ambrose had mentioned that you were proficient enough to take all of our core classes at the N.E.W.T level, but that still leaves you with a great deal of free blocks. Room enough that I am sure you could take on an additional two classes with little trouble."

Cassie considered the professor's words. "I have, but may I see my schedule as it stands?" she asked. "To be perfectly honest with you professor, I've only given it a brief consideration since Professor Ambrose mentioned that there would be a need for me to choose classes. My mind has been rather occupied with… other matters." No need to belabour the point, the man wasn't a fool.

Nodding; the professor clicked his fingers and, almost before she could blink, the quill on his desk was scribbling away. As she watched the quill's pace, Albus withdrew his wand from his sleeve and waved it at the chair to her right. The soft _'poof'_ caused her eyes to snap back to him, her hand unconsciously clenching into a hard claw. "Oh, I do beg your pardon my dear." Dumbledore murmured, retaking his seat as the quill finished its work. "We are slightly more hard-nosed here at Hogwarts then I believe my dear friend Merle is at Ravenwood. At Hogwarts, we do require you to be provisioned with a uniform." Picking up the paper before him, Dumbledore used it to draw Cassie's attention to the small pile of clothes he had conjured up for her, before setting the slip down in front of her seat.

Black and grey mostly, with touches of green and silver. _'A little dull for my tastes.'_ She thought, mentally comparing the lack-luster uniform with the armor she now wore, or at least with what her armor would look like as soon as she managed to send it back home so it could be cleaned. _'But I suppose… When in Rome.'_ Rising, Cassie collected on set of the uniforms in her arms. "I don't wish to sound presumptuous, but there aren't that many here… What am I to do for the rest of the year?"

"Oh the conjured cloth will fail eventually, in approximately a month or so, but you should have had time to pop down to Madam Malkin's in Diagon Alley long before that happens." Dumbledore smiled, and motioned Cassie towards another door, one that led to the attached bathroom. "And provided that they are not overt pieces of weaponry; the rest of your wardrobe, such as any cloaks or gloves you have, should suffice."

"What about my wand professor?" Cassie called through the door as she changed, setting her armor down with the greatest care. "It is a bow after all."

"Oh yes, would you happen to have something slightly less… dangerous?" Dumbledore asked, eyeing the wand she had mentioned. Unlike this world, the wands of Ravenwood were not just straight pieces of wood. Cassandra's wand for example was a beautifully crafted re-curved bow, made of cherry wood and mahogany, with a grip of some unknown substance that flickered and burned with a blood red fire. Albus could only imagine what lay at this wand's core to make it such a force of power. That, combined with the dark leather quiver filled with bolts fashioned from what he could only assume were some very powerful fire spells she'd had slung over her shoulder when she materialized here made for a more than somewhat deadly combination. One he was unwilling to allow into his school.

"Not particularly." Cassie replied, grimacing slightly at the dull figure she cut in her uniform. She didn't mind grey and black, after all, as a death student it was hard to avoid such colors, but to have it as the sole base for her entire wardrobe? Sighing, she pushed such bleak thoughts to the side and faced her armor, banishing it back to the closet that stood in her bedroom back home with a flick of her hand. For a moment she just stood there, staring at the spot it had vanished from. How long would it be before she could similarly return home? Shaking her head, she moved back to the door. "I have a spear tucked away back home that I could disguise somewhat." She continued, re-entering the room.

"Would you permit me to dull the edges?"

Cassie paused, thinking. "I'm not certain you can." She mused slowly. "It was a gift from a shaman, made from some of the strongest and most powerful reagents found in Zafaria. I don't think it's physically possible to dull it." Moving back to the chair she had vacated, Cassie picked up the bow leaning to the side, gently running her hands over the surface of the wood. It almost appeared as though she were saying good-bye. "But I can assure you there are some very powerful defensive wards placed upon it. And I can at least cast a disguise on it to make it appear as though it is nothing more than a magical staff."

"How secure are these defensive wards?" Dumbledore asked, still somewhat wary.

A slightly disturbing smirk tugged at the corner of Cassie's lip. "How about I just say that anyone who attempts to use any of my wands without my permission will rue the day they did so until they draw their dying breath." Her voice was cold, quiet, and underneath that tone lay the hint of something far more perilous than initially thought.

Albus found himself slightly taken aback in that moment. He had met many students who had said similar things, but they had never been as young as this girl. Well, there was one obvious exception, but still. And yet, even as he was loath to allow a weapon of such caliber on to the grounds, when he looked into the cold steel of Cassandra's eyes… he believed her. "Could you shrink it down to a manageable wand length? I'm afraid that no one has possessed a magical staff in this world since Merlin's time."

Grimacing slightly as she considered the work involved in the endeavor… and all before her first day of classes tomorrow. _'Perhaps it would be better to choose the axe. It's a bit long for a wand, but I suppose with some work I would pass it off as just a little stick. Or maybe I can hunt something down in the treasure room.'_ "I'll think of something." She said, her eyes warming slightly as they moved off the topic of her defenses. "I've a few wands at my disposal that I might be able to make use of here. But I should tell you that all of them double as basic weaponry in some way. It's not as though we in Ravenwood have any choice in the matter really."

Albus nodded. "I understand, and if your defensive wards are as strong as you say, I suppose I can allow the wands on campus for the time being, but we really must think about getting you a wand for this world as soon as possible. I would really prefer not to have such weapons on our grounds."

Cassie shrugged calmly. "I'm certain I've got something I can make use of. I'll have something teleported to me within the next couple of days." She said, moving to the trunk beside Dumbledore's desk and slowly sorting through the items held within.

Albs just shook his head. "I'm afraid that won't work my dear. Hogwarts is one of the most heavily defended locations in Europe. I don't believe you'll be able to teleport anything within these walls."

Her hands paused in their rifling. "Then how in the hell did I manage to teleport here in the first place? I bloody well didn't walk all the way here." If there was a way around the defenses of this place, they needed to plug that damn hole and quickly.

"That was a temporary opening created by in an effort to expedite your arrival, one that took great power and effort both Professor Ambrose and me to co-ordinate. I assure you, Cassandra, it is not something our enemies are capable of recreating efficiently."

Nodding, Cassie didn't return to her perusal, her thoughts turning to how in the hell she was going to get a wand that wasn't also a weapon in from her home. "Is there any place close by that I can teleport from? I'm not about to just leave my friends and classmates to fight on their own. I need to be able to port off world to help as best I can." Glancing over, Cassie caught what she thought was a look of scepticism. "I'll not just abandon them professor!" she snarled, a previously unnoticed brogue peeking through in her anger.

"Nor do I expect you to." Albus replied quickly, eager to assuage her. "I believe there is a passageway you could use. It leads to a shack down in Hogsmeade, somewhat outside of our grounds. It was previously used by one of our students afflicted with Lycanthropy. I shall see to it that you are shown the way."

"Thank you professor." Cassie replied, turning back to her sifting. Everything appeared to be in order, save for her lacking the required texts for her two elective classes as well as her uniforms. Doing a quick calculation, she figured she could easily furnish herself with these items without bankrupting herself. Rising to her feet, she grabbed the schedule on the desk and glanced over it, wondering if she might just want to keep the free blocks as they were so that she would have more opportunity to port off world. But then, that might arouse suspicions of the students here and that was something she would rather have avoided. _'Let's see; Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Transfiguration (I'll have to see about getting a tutor for that one), and Charms. Well, I could leave it alone, or I could choose from Astronomy, Ancient Runes, or Ancient Magic. What to do?'_ Given how busy she expected to be, there was probably a great deal of merit in choosing classes that she would find easy.

"Anything I can help you with my dear?" Albus asked, blithely returning to his seat.

"No... No I think I've got it." Cassie murmured, mentally sorting through her options. Passing her schedule back to the headmaster, Cassie smiled. "I think I'll add Astronomy and Study of Ancient Runes to my schedule. Those sound interesting."

"Are you certain about Ancient Runes? It has a fairly heavy and complex course load and you are unfamiliar with the language as I recall."

"Professor Ambrose showed me a brief example of the runic languages of this world when he told me about the classes. It's very similar to the written language of Grizzleheim, a language I have become very fluent in, and I highly doubt I will have much trouble making the transference." She shrugged, casual. "And if I do, I can always request the help of a tutor. To be honest, I was going to ask you about possibly providing me one for Transfiguration. I'm fairly certain that I'll be able to grasp the subject, but I'll probably need some help getting started since we don't really have any comparative subjects at Ravenwood."

Dumbledore nodded. "I believe I can help you with this. I think you're scheduled to have the same class with one of our top students in that subject. I shall speak to Professor McGonagall about giving her your name. I believe she's also enrolled in Ancient Runes so if you happen to have issues on that front, at least you'll be working with the same person. For the time being though, I think we just need to worry about your wand."

Sighing, Cassie nodded and set her bow on Dumbledore's desk. "I'll probably need some help for this." She murmured, gently resting her quiver on top of the bow. Dumbledore nodded and drew his wand, murmuring a camouflage spell even as he watched Cassandra mouthing an ancient and silent incantation. The wand began to take on a shadowy aura as Cassandra's spell took hold. Soon, tiny shots of gold wove their way through the shadow and slowly the bow's form began to shift. Tiny droplets of sweat began to break out over Cassie's face as her wand fought back against the disguise. It took a great deal of time, but eventually, the bow that once flickered so proudly against the dark wood of the desk was replaced by a long, plain wand.

Cassie grimaced. She had been so proud of her bow, so proud of her skill with it. Now it was just... lacking. Shaking her head, Cassie just slid her former wand into the recesses of her robes and quietly closed the trunk at her feet. Sighing, she combed a hand through her hair, pulling the elastic from it and shaking the pale locks loose from their confines. Taking a moment before she scooped them back up into the low pony tail she usually wore, Cassie gently massaged the back of her head, sighing softly as the pulsing headache she had been dealing with for hours began to fade.

A sharp knock resounded through the office, startling Cassie slightly. Swiftly Cassie pulled her hair back into a low tail as Professor Dumbledore called for the visitor to enter. Turning to the door, Cassie found herself a little startled by what came through the door. A boy, perhaps only a little older than she was, dressed in a rumpled uniform the same color as she was wearing stalked into the room looking as though he had been dead asleep when the summons had arrived. _'Does he mean to look like that, or has he actually been having trouble sleeping?'_ Cassie wondered briefly, though only slightly curious about the fashions of this world. Setting that aside though, the boy was incredibly attractive, with his pale skin and a tangled mop of platinum blonde hair. Arching a brow slightly, Cassie wondered just what this boy would be like as a whole.

"Ah, Mister Malfoy, I take it you are here in place of Professor Snape?"

The boy nodded. "Yes Headmaster." He said, his voice quiet. "Professor Snape sends his apologies, but he was experimenting with a new potion and cannot leave it at the moment." Malfoy's eyes shifted over to her, giving her a brief once-over, a brief twinkle of interest in his tired eyes. A wry smirk tugged at the corner of her lip and Cassie just rolled her eyes briefly, turning back to the headmaster. A player, she knew the type. A boy playing at being a man, without taking the time to actually grow up. A boy who thought, but didn't really know, what it meant to be a man in the world today. _'He'll learn. Life has that wonderful way of cutting you off at the knees right when you need it the most.'_ Though her face remained expressionless, Cassie's eyes hardened, refusing to think such things here, refusing to break down.

"It is no matter." Dumbledore replied, an amused smiled blooming on his features. "Mister Draco Malfoy, I should like to introduce Miss Cassandra Ravenblood, a new student to your house. I trust you will make her feel welcome."

Cassie took a breath, trying to regain control of her thoughts as she turned back to Draco. "A pleasure to meet you." She said, holding her hand out to him.

For a moment, Draco didn't move, almost as though he were debating the proper course to take here. It was only a moment though, and soon enough, he grasped her hand gently in his. "The pleasure is mine." He murmured, in what she was sure was his most sensual tone, as he bowed over her hand.

'_Well, at least he didn't kiss it.'_ Cassie thought to herself as she simply nodded politely in response. _'I wouldn't have had any clue what to do at that point.'_ As it was, she just turned back towards her new headmaster. "Will that be all professor? Or do you need anything else."

"Just one brief question my dear," Albus said as he shrunk down her trunk to better allow her to carry it. "Is your pet going to be comfortable amongst our owls? I assume he is going to be delivering your post to you?" Dumbledore asked, motioning towards the silent raven now perched beside his phoenix, coldly surveying the scene before him.

Cassie nodded as she retrieved the trunk from the floor. "Yes, he will be. And if Huginn is uncomfortable being with the other birds, then he'll find someplace else to roost."

Draco snorted slightly behind her. "Huginn?" he asked, his tone colored with derision.

A wave of irritation rolled through her at his words. She shot a venomous look over her shoulder. "Go to the library and open a book on Norse Mythology, maybe then you'll get it." Her words were light, but there was an edge to her tone. Huginn had been a gift and she would not see him maligned. "And I would suggest you be careful what you say around him."

Draco arched an elegantly plucked brow. "Oh really, why?"

"Didn't you know? Ravens are carrion birds." Cassie said, smirking, as she took her trunk from Dumbledore and slipped it into her pocket. "They rather enjoy the taste of flesh." Wanting to feel the comforting weight of her friend, Cassie motioned to him, softly clicking her tongue. Just as she knew he would, Huginn spread his large wings and glided over, settling himself on her outstretched hand.

"Yes, but to be truly appealing, I would have to already be dead." Draco replied, smirking slightly at his own logic.

"Not entirely true." She murmured, bringing Huginn closer to her and crooning softly to him. "Huginn, I am told, comes from a long line of war birds. I've only known it to happen once, but he has been known to make a midday feast of a man's eyes given the right circumstances. Isn't that right my darling." She sang to the bird, laughing lightly as Huginn stepped up onto her shoulder and began lightly running his beak through her hair. "You're a very territorial boy aren't you Huginn? You'd go after anything you saw as a threat wouldn't you my lovely." Cassie was certain the smile growing on her face was probably terrifying him, despite the fact that he wasn't showing it on his face. She couldn't help but chuckle softly. "Oh relax; he won't do anything to you unless you piss him off." Laughing merrily, Cassie leaned over and gently kissed Huginn's wing. "Alright now, I'll see you in the morning. Go on, go find someplace to sleep."

Huginn crooned quietly and nipped her ear affectionately before lifting off from her shoulder and disappearing into the night. "If that is all professor," said Cassie, not bothering to watch him go. Huginn was a big boy; he'd find somewhere to spend the night. "It's getting rather late and I would appreciate getting at least a little sleep tonight. As I recall, there are classes tomorrow."

"This is true; I have kept you here for far too long. I shall make arrangements with someone on staff to escort you to Diagon Alley as soon as possible to furnish you with those spare uniforms and the other items you require."

Cassie just nodded and turned to Draco. "Shall we? I wasn't kidding when I said I needed sleep."

Draco bowed slightly. "Goodnight headmaster." Cassie nodded slightly towards Dumbledore before turning and following Draco out the door, neither of them noticing the small smile that followed them out the door.

"Good luck my dear." Dumbledore murmured once the door had closed behind the two students. "I wish you all the luck in the world." And with that final thought, he sat down to begin furnishing Cassandra with all the requirements of this world.


	3. To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

The torches flickered gently in the quiet hallways, casting odd shadows across the various surfaces before her as Cassie walked, listening to the sound of her footsteps echoing around her. The sharp staccato of her boots mostly covering the soft crackle of the flames as she followed Draco down to her dorm. The pale grey stone took on an almost ethereal glow from the torches, making Cassie's heart clench slightly with homesickness.

She felt more than saw the glance Draco shot her way. "You look like something's on your mind." He said. "Care to share with the rest of the class?"

"Not particularly." Cassie murmured, not even sparing him a glance. She didn't especially want his attentions, but there was no denying the benefits of having well-placed friends. Draco might not be the most powerful friend to have at the moment, but Cassie was certain she would find a use for him at some point.

"Oh, come on now. I think you'll find me a very sympathetic ear."

"No offense Mr. Malfoy..."

"Please," he said, his arm gently reaching out to halt her progress, forcing her to face him. "Call me Draco."

Cassie eyed him a moment, before nodding. "Alright, no offense Draco, but I much prefer to keep my private life to myself. No doubt you have other things to worry about in your own life." She was hardly surprised to note the flash of angry suspicion that shot over his face before the cool mask of indifference covered it up.

"I do, but that hardly means I can't avail myself to a damsel in distress." He replied, a smooth smile springing forth to disguise his earlier discomfort.

Cassie just laughed. "As I'm sure you will discover in time Draco, I am anything but a damsel in distress. Now I appreciate the offer, but I am more in need of a room to call my own and a bed to sleep on than a man to rescue me." A somewhat mocking smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "Although, if you were to be honest, I think you would appear less the White Knight and more... more of a Lothario."

Draco's eyes hardened, transforming into chips of ice in seconds flat. "And why would you say that? You don't know anything about me."

"Well, you know what they say about first impressions. Unless I miss my guess, you've been looking to add me to the, no doubt impressive, collection of notches you've managed to carve into your bedpost in your years here since we left the headmaster's office." Cassie's face remained unchanged as she spoke, probably only fueling the fire of his anger at the moment. "But if I have misread you then by all means, prove me wrong. It would be a nice change of pace to be wrong for once. Now I believe you were going to show me where I would be living for the next little while? Don't you think we ought to get back to that?"

Draco scrutinized her for a minute or two, apparently not really sure what to make of her. Cassie was starting to get a little annoyed when he suddenly spun on his heel and took up a much quicker pace down the hall. Cassie grimaced inwardly, having a bit of trouble keeping up with the ass, but she was hardly about to say so. She simply gritted her teeth and lengthened her stride, remaining no less than one step behind him. With every second they passed further and further down into the belly of the castle, the surrounding air growing colder with each step. Cassie took a long breath, smelling the dank, wet scent of water and oppressive darkness... and she loved it. It was like something out of the beginnings of a normal person's nightmare and she hadn't felt more at home since she had been sorted into the Death school of Ravenwood. _'I might actually like it here.'_ She thought, her eyes roving about her shadowy surroundings. _'A touch too much green for my liking perhaps, but nothing that can't be worked with.'_

"I don't know what you're used to." Draco said, apparently mistaking her look for one of distaste. "But this is one of the most prestigious houses in Hogwarts. You're not likely to find anything better."

"Who said I was looking." She replied as they entered what appeared to be a large antechamber. Once again, the overabundance of green was a bit much, but Cassie had little doubt that she could get used to it. "With the exception of the vast amount of green on the wall (I assume that's representative of the house) it rather reminds me of home, just... in better repair." Though she fought it, Cassie couldn't keep the grief she felt from coloring her words.

"What, your home gone to shit?" he snapped, obviously pleased at this piece of ammunition, tiny as it might have been. "Family couldn't keep up with the payments and now it's all gone to hell has it?" he asked, pulling up short in front of a rather plain stone wall.

"Maybe." Cassie replied snidely, growing weary of his attitude. It had been a long day and all she really wanted to do was sleep. "Cut the shit and I might tell you all about my sad little story one day."

"What are you talking about?"

"Look, there's no denying you're an ass Draco, anyone with half a brain in their head can see that." Turning to him, Cassie had to admire his poker face. This boy was giving very little away to her. "But you're an ass bred, not born. Maybe one day if you decide you actually want to be a real person, I might tell you my real story." She shrugged, smirking slightly at his anger. "It seems like a fair trade doesn't it?"

Draco's eyes narrowed and, for a moment, Cassie felt very certain that he would strike her. But oddly enough, he didn't make a move for her, despite the fact that she could plainly see a snarl of annoyance fighting its way on to his face. She, on the other hand, felt nothing. She had said nothing that wasn't true, though there were certainly other ways she could have put it. That having been said, if she had in fact used those methods, he probably wouldn't have paid her any heed. _'Ah well, Sweet f*** all I can do about it now'_ she thought carelessly to herself. Only now, it appeared he was trying to draw her into a game of mental chicken, perhaps in some kind of vain attempt to force her to say she was wrong. _'Oh for the love of Hades Draco, what are you, five?'_ The game apparently lasted all of two minutes, giving Cassie a very low opinion of all those who had come up against this boy in the past. "Pure-blood!" Draco snapped, not taking his eyes off her as he said it.

Rolling her eyes, Cassie turned to watch the apparently not-so-ordinary bricks of the wall before her shift and move until they formed a door. The stairway that stretched out before her flickered with torches, but seemed to possess its own, almost emerald glow. Even she had to admit, she was impressed, if only just a bit.

"Don't ever give the password to anyone. If they're a true Slytherin, they'll know it already." Draco said, brushing past her and striding down the stairs.

"Yes, because absolutely no one would be able to guess THAT password." Cassie muttered under her breath as she moved to follow.

To his credit, if Draco heard her he gave no sign as he led her down the tightly winding stairway. It took a few moments for Cassie's head to understand why he wasn't suddenly looking sickly, what with the green light surrounding them. After all, if there was one thing no one looked good in, it was green lighting. Eventually though, she just decided that it had to be a property of the stone and left it at that. This was right around the point that the two of them came to the end of the staircase and she got a taste of exactly how immense this castle was. Before her lay a massive bridge in a cavern of dark grey stone. She didn't need to look over the edge to know that, miles below, there was water lapping around the bridges supports; probably from the lake outside. But look she did. "An underground cavern." She murmured, more than a little more impressed with Hogwarts in that moment as she wandered over to the barely waist high railing. "Very cool... this would be a perfect place to..." she snapped her mouth shut before the words could leave her tongue, though she couldn't deny the thought. _'To kill someone... This would be a beautiful place to kill someone.'_ Hey, dark as it was, she wouldn't have been a death student if she didn't think it.

"A perfect place to what?" Draco asked, though she could tell he didn't particularly care to hear the answer.

'_Would you care? If I told you what I was actually thinking, would that prompt you to actually give a shit?'_ Cassie thought, taking a moment to stare down into the murky green ink below her. "To come and think. Another thing you'll discover about me (Assuming you're at all interested of course) is that I am a girl who enjoys her own company most of the time. Silence is something I find very... comfortable." Turning back to him, she smiled softly. "Shall we continue?"

"Oh you must be an absolute lark at parties." Draco muttered and though she heard him, Cassie really didn't feel like starting anything else tonight. This time she simply followed him over the bridge and down yet another hallway. She was quite thankful that this appeared to be the last of them as the hall eventually opened up into a vaulting entrance-way, lined with portraits of people she didn't know, all now snoozing in their frames. _'Former students gone on to do great things? Or just people they admire?'_ she wondered idly as her eyes took in everything around her, listening to Draco as they walked.

"This is the common room." He was saying, now apparently rather bored with her. "This is where we do homework and socialize once curfew is up." Cassie smirked at that, but said nothing, simply allowing her eyes to take in the ornate fireplace and overstuffed leather couches, just as dark as the previous hallways. "Bedrooms are over there." He said, drawing her eye to a large door off to their right with a cavalier flick of his hand. "Girls are to the left. I think the last room in the hall is open. You don't really have a lot of choice in where you live at this point. It's first come first serve around here. You need anything else?" he asked, fixing her with a gaze that all but dared her to ask for something else.

"Not at the moment, no." Cassie replied, her voice calm in the face of his annoyance. She had tested him enough tonight. "Thank you Draco. I appreciate you showing me around." She smiled softly, somewhat in amusement at her own behaviour. "Goodnight Draco." With that, she turned and began walking towards the dorms.

"Ravenblood." His voice was quiet, thoughtful, and more than likely very dangerous. "I don't believe I've ever heard that name before. Old family?"

Cassie smirked at him over her shoulder. "Very old Draco. Very old and very private." Her smirk widened softly and she gave him a slight nod. "Now goodnight Draco. I'm sure that any other questions you have about me can wait until the morning." With that, Cassie turned on her heel and headed down the hall to what would soon be her room. With every step she took, the merry twinkle in her eyes brightened. She didn't need to turn around and see it to feel Draco's eyes on her, probably wondering just who in the hell she was. _'Let him wonder.'_ She thought as she let herself into the large, empty room that was now her home. _'Let them all wonder, at least for a little while. Starting rumours is just way too much fun.'_

As much as she tried to stifle it, Cassie couldn't help the soft giggle that burst from her lips. Yes, starting rumours was fun and she was certain that Draco was not the only one to have seen her in their dorms tonight. By lunchtime tomorrow at the latest, Cassie was certain there would be a flurry of supposition surrounding her. _'Being the one who brought me down here, Draco will certainly be a popular lad.'_ She thought as she pulled out her shrunken trunk and resized it. _'I wonder if he'll be making up a few rumours of his own.'_ She paused a moment, considering the matter before deciding that ultimately, she didn't really care. The rumours would fly regardless and if Draco were at the center of that storm of possibility well then good for him. Let him add that particular wave to his own popularity for however long it lasted.

"Oh, before I forget..." Drawing her quiver from her trunk for what might have been the final time, Cassie moved to her desk, intent on sending out a few letters at first light. Setting a number of quills and pieces of parchment on the desk, she drew forth one of her arrows, tapping it against each of the parchments in turn. "Flourish and Blotts, Madam Malkin's, Potage's Cauldron's, Slug and Jiggers Apothecary, and Gringotts." With each tap of her arrow, a quill sprang to life and began scribbling down a slight missive she would send off with Huginn tomorrow, lists of all that she would require and where they could send them. It wasn't her favorite way of writing such things, the risk of a mistake and having to redo a letter being rather high, but with so many that needed to be written in such a short span of time... Well, it really was the only efficient way to get things done at the moment. As the quills scribbled away, Cassie set her arrows back into her trunk. No matter what Dumbledore asked of here, there was no way she could send her bow and arrows back home, even after the disguise wore off. This world was too dangerous and anyone who relied solely on one particular form of defense usually wound up dead in a ditch. At least, that was her experience.

And so she would leave it here, locked up tightly in her room, a contingency she hoped she wouldn't need. Tomorrow she would bring out the staff her mother had given her all those years ago, a staff she had all but forgotten about until now. Shrunk down, it would serve its purpose and perhaps then there would be no need for her to get a new wand exclusively for this world. _'In any case, now is really not the time to fret over that. I need to get at least a little sleep before the sun comes up or I will be absolutely useless in tomorrow.'_ Going about her nightly routine, Cassie let her mind wander slightly, imagining what her first day might look like. Dumbledore had warned her that there would be a great deal of homework and perhaps a few items within the subject matter she would find confusing, but such things had never really worried her before. Honestly, the only thing she was really fretting about at the moment was if the headmaster would be able to find her a suitable tutor to make up for the gaps in her knowledge.

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see." She muttered quietly, deciding to put the matter out of her head for the time being. The quiet sound of quills on parchment has stopped while she was in the bathroom, and now Cassie gave each of her letters a quick once over, searching out any glaring mistakes or rambling transitions to thoughts that didn't belong. She found none, and so left the letters be. She would package them up in the morning once the ink had had a chance to dry. The bed she had chosen was incredibly comfortable, prepared by some thoughtful soul who had placed a bed warmer where her feet would be. As she curled up on her side, staring out the massive window across from her into the dark lake beyond, random thoughts slowly began to waft through her mind. Surprisingly though, the last thought to cross her mind as her eyes finally succumbed to sleep wasn't her father or mother's faces (As were the norm), but the face of a pale blonde boy with sad eyes.

Even as sleep finally claimed her, she wondered briefly to herself. _'What makes you so sad?'_ And somewhere in the back of her mind, became determined to find out.


	4. Outside the Lines

**FINALLY! Now I'm not saying that my writer's block has entirely lifted, I'm not certain of that one. I'm going to be honest with y'all, I'm fighting with other Muses at the moment. I've got at least 2 other stories offline that I am working on in an attempt to retain focus on this one. For as big of a pain in the neck as this one's being, it's actually shaping up to be one of my favorites and I don't want to see this muse escape before I'm finished with her (God that sounded wrong).**

**Anyway, suffice to say, I'm fighting! I just hope you guys will fight with me. :D Please?**

**Sincerely,  
CC  
**

* * *

By the time Cassie awoke the next morning, she could see the sun had already crested the horizon from the amount of shifting, greenish light in her room. It was a rare occurrence, since the first rays of the sun were usually what woke her. She brushed it off as the long day she'd had yesterday and the very comfortable bed she had fallen into. Pulling herself out of the warm comfort of her covers with a groan, Cassie stretched, sighing with relief as she felt her back pop in a few places. Moving to her trunk, Cassie took the time to dig through and haul out her watch, checking exactly how much time she had to shower and dress before heading down for breakfast. It wasn't as much time as she would have liked, but then again, things could have been worse.

And so, after quickly showering and dressing; choosing to forgo any major make-up in the interest of time, Cassie headed down for breakfast. Silently she prayed there would be coffee, or at least some very strong black tea. Most days she was absolutely useless without at least some kind of caffeine in her blood.

From the sounds emanating from the Great Hall, it would appear that Cassie was rather late for breakfast. _'Oh joy.'_ She thought, breathing a soft sigh. Now while Cassie might not have cared about rumours, but that hardly meant she enjoyed being the center of attention, even for a brief period of time. _'Well, that's what I get for sleeping in.'_ She thought quietly, pushing open the door.

The hall was rather impressive, with its shifting blue sky for a ceiling and the soft glow from the torches. The four massive tables stretched far into the distance, all perfectly aligned under the banners of their house. It was both a very impressive and formidable sight. As were the multitude of heads that turned her way when the door that had slipped from her hand slammed shut. The sound jarred almost everyone from their conversations and Cassie watched their heads whip 'round to face her. Sighing silently, Cassie gave the room a jauntily flippant salute, hiking her book bag further up her shoulder as she made her way over to an empty seat at the Slytherin table. "Oh thank Chronos." She muttered quietly, spotting a tall coffee pot right in front of her seat. Wasting no time, Cassie ignored the rest of the room as they slowly returned to their initial conversations, choosing to focus on getting her caffeine fix for the day.

But before she could take even a single sip of her coffee, Cassie felt someone plop themselves right next to her. "Well you certainly know how to make an entrance." The voice said, smoothly. Cassie made no reply, choosing rather to take a large mouthful of coffee before she said something she would regret. Glancing over as she did, Cassie took in the boy's dark skin and dangerously good looks. Dangerous mainly because this was a boy who knew exactly how to use his looks to get what he wanted. She would have to keep this one at an arm's length if she were to make good use of him. "Blaise Zabini." He said, holding out a hand and forging ahead in spite of her silence.

The boy was balls-y, she had to give him that. "Cassandra Ravenblood." She replied, setting her cup down to shake his hand.

"You're new around here." It was more a statement than a question.

Cassie smirked slightly as she turned to reach for something to eat. "That's somewhat obvious isn't it?" she replied. "If I weren't, you'd most likely already know me since we appear to be the same age."

Blaise nodded. "Someone's been saying that you only just got in last night."

"Someone eh?" Cassie snorted, biting into a large blueberry muffin. "This someone wouldn't happen to be blonde and have a temperament and name to suit a dragon now would he?"

Blaise smirked, a soft chuckle just barely reaching Cassie's ears over the din. "Quite possibly, he and I are friends." He watched her eat as he spoke, his eyes reminding her of some of the great predators of Zarafia or the birdmen of Grizzleheim, completely confident in his abilities with a soul almost as black as pitch. _'Oh yes. I would do very well to keep a firm eye on this one.'_ she thought sipping her coffee quietly as she subtly looked him over_. 'He'll be useful to me, but he'll need a firm eye on him at all times.'_ "So I suppose," Blaise continued, shaking Cassie from her thoughts, "That you'll be needing a guide around the grounds every now and then. I just wanted to come over and offer my services in that area." His smile widened slightly, though it only served to make him appear all the more wolfish to Cassie. "I hope you'll remember to call on me."

Cassie was about to reply, though how she wasn't exactly sure, when a voice cut across hers. "Ravenblood!" Cassie silently sent up a prayer of thanks to her master, just in case he was the one who had helped get her out of this conversation. If not, well a little unbidden gratitude never hurt.

"Did you need something Draco?" she asked smoothly, slowly facing him as she spoke. He looked much better today, his uniform pressed and crisp, not a hair out of place. Oddly enough, Cassie had to fight down the desire to muss his hair, if only so something about him would be askew. NO creature should be so perfectly perfect.

"I've been told that I am to escort you to our potions class. Apparently we share a similar schedule." His tone was curt, only slightly more polite than it had been at his worst yesterday. Casually Cassie wondered just what it was that she had done to awaken his ire today.

"You are very kind to do so Draco, thank you." Turning back to Blaise, she offered up an apologetic smile. "I am sorry Blaise, but it would appear that the role of my guide has been filled for the day. Perhaps another time."

"I look forward to it." Blaise replied, his voice as soft as silk, though there appeared almost a brief flash of distemper before he managed to quash it. Rising from his seat, the beautiful boy nodded to his pale counterpart. "Have fun Draco." He murmured as he passed, shooting an appreciative glance at Cassie that would have had a lesser girl giggling like a fool. As it was, the slightly more human part of her still had the decency to flush lightly at Blaise's overt appreciation of her as she turned back to her breakfast. Picking up her cutlery, Cassie prayed that her skin tone would be sufficient cover for her blush. But as she began eating, she had the very strong feeling that it hadn't.

As she consumed the eggs and toast she had somehow managed to place upon her plate, Cassie felt Draco take Blaise's place at her left side. "Stay away from him." He muttered after a moment, finally forcing her to look up at him.

"Who, Blaise?"

"He's a smarmy bastard who's only trying to get up your skirt." Draco muttered darkly, almost glaring out of the corner of his eye after his 'friend'.

It was so amusing, the idea that Draco would be trying to protect her from someone worse than him, that Cassie actually snorted into her eggs. "I'm sorry, you actually think I'm going to just fall into his bed with a few words and a smirk here and there?" Cassie was fighting her chuckles so hard; she almost couldn't keep her sip of coffee down. "Believe me when I say this Draco, you're friend Blaise is entirely not my type." She said, taking a large bite out of her toast.

"Oh really? The two of you seemed to be getting along famously." Draco said, soft venom dripping from his words, making Cassie smirk.

"Simply because I'm not attracted to him Draco, doesn't mean that I cannot be civil towards him." Cassie glanced over to Blaise, who appeared to have moved on to easier targets since they had finished speaking. "He's a handsome man, I'll not deny that, but he is a man who knows exactly how handsome he is and exactly how to use his looks to get anything he pleases. It is that knowledge right there that makes him the complete opposite of my type. That and he's a pretty obvious womanizer. And besides," she said, setting her cutlery down and taking one last drink of coffee, "I've never been all that fond of smarmy bastards."

"And yet you blushed like a silly schoolgirl when he left. Are you still going to insist that you're not attracted to him?" Draco replied, his voice much smoother now that he believed he had caught her in a trap.

Cassie just shook her head in amusement. "One thing you may not know about girls Draco, is that even a backhanded compliment can turn our heads every now and then. It hardly means that we are about to leap into bed with the one who is complimenting us." Rolling her eyes, Cassie stood and collected her things. "I'm certain Blaise has his uses and will prove to be an amusement in the future, but that's the extent of it for me. Now, I believe you were going to show me where we will be learning potions this year?" Stilling her movements, Cassie smiled down at the pale boy still in his seat. "I am rather interested in what your professor has to teach on this particular subject."

Draco said nothing, just stared at Cassie for a moment or two. His gaze was so hard, Cassie almost felt as though he were attempting to pry open her head and peer inside her mind. She very much hoped she wasn't giving anything away. Cassie preferred keeping her thoughts to herself for a reason after all. Finally, after a few long minutes, Draco seemed to rouse himself. "So where is your little pet this morning?" he asked, snatching his bag up from the floor before he began to lead her through the hall. "I notice you didn't get any post." He said, by way of explanation.

Cassie just shot him an amused glance. "Forgive me Draco, but are you surprised by the fact that I haven't received any post? I'm not. I only just arrived here; I haven't been here long enough for anyone to really fret over my wellbeing." Cassie smirked softly at the thought of anyone who knew her actually fretting over her. "So I gave Huginn the morning off. He'll be here about lunch to take some letters off for me."

"Rather certain of that aren't you."

"Yes, I am." Cassie blithely replied, choosing to ignore the obvious insult to her pet. "If nothing else, Huginn is very loyal. And also very prompt. I don't doubt that when we break for lunch, I will more than likely find him waiting for me."

Draco simply grunted, apparently deciding that she was no longer worth his voice. When she glanced over at him, Draco's mind appeared to be elsewhere. His brow was furrowed slightly and his eyes appeared distant. Cassie rolled her eyes and shrugged, admittedly a little miffed that he now appeared to be ignoring her, but not entirely concerned. Draco had already proven himself to be a bit of an odd duck, this behaviour was just further proof of that. Instead, Cassie just continued to follow him down into the upper regions of the dungeon for the class they would share, quietly hoping for at least something to encourage a conversation between the two of them now.

When they reached what she supposed was the classroom, Cassie just had to sigh softly at Draco's anti-social attitude. _'What in the name of Hades crawled up his ass and died?'_ She thought to herself as she passed through the door he, surprisingly held open for her. "You know, I really have to wonder exactly what it is that I've done to make you act so around me, Draco." She murmured, wanting to keep their conversation from nearby ears. As different as things may have been world to world, Cassie felt rather sure that it was still rather impolite to broadcast another person's attitude problems to the world.

Draco frowned at her. "What the bloody hell are you on about?" he hissed, seemingly less concerned with the volume of his voice.

Cassie rolled her eyes, but kept her voice low as she took in her surroundings. "I mean, Draco, that one minute you appear concerned for my reputation and emotional well-being, the next you're insulting and ignoring me, and then immediately after that you're holding the door open for me." Pausing a moment, she looked at him; her calm, ice blue eyes locking onto his fiery green. "It's more than just a little confusing and I would appreciate it if you would kindly just tell me what it is I've done to piss you off so, so that I can give you the apology I'm assuming you're looking for, (One that I feel rather disinclined to give at this moment, but what the hell...) and that we might be able to move on from this petty arrangement we have going at the moment." Having said her piece, Cassie leaned up against one of the many stations around her to await his response.

Draco's glare seemed to harden, if that were possible, but unless Cassie was gravely mistaken a glimmer of confusion appeared. Buried deep within him, it appeared as though Draco was having a problem deciding just how in the Devil's name he was going to deal with her. It almost made her laugh, but she wasn't certain of what she saw and so she bit her tongue. "How I behave is none of your concern." He said, his voice cold and low. I signal of his irritation she supposed. "I was raised to be a gentleman..."

"Could've fooled me." Cassie said, cutting him off. "You've been acting quite the bi-polar little bitch since we met and since it appears to be mainly happening around me, I must then assume that I am at least one of the contributing factors if not one of the causes. I'm not arrogant enough to assume I'm the sole cause, but something about me apparently aggravates you and I would like to know what it is to that I may tailor my behaviour somewhat. Since I'm assuming we're going to be seeing a fair amount of each other, wouldn't you agree that such a course of action would be the more intelligent move?"

Fury instantly sprang to the forefront of Draco's gaze, almost making Cassie wince with its intensity, but she was saved from his tirade as the professor (She assumed he was the professor anyway) swooped into the room. Draco gave her one last glare before slipping behind the table he had been standing by while she straightened and moved into her own seat in front of him. Quickly, she slipped out the notebook she had brought with her and the text Professor Dumbledore had been kind enough to furnish her with. She had been rather looking forward to this class and seeing how it compared to the rather loose, independent teaching method found at Ravenwood. Undoubtedly the recipes would be a bit more involved; but she didn't anticipate any problems. If there was one thing she had inherited from her family, it was skill in the potion lab.

"Good morning students." The professor called out jovially, seeming to ignore the weary and half-hearted groan that arose from the throats of his pupils. "Now, the headmaster has informed me that we have a new student joining us today. May I ask who it is joining us?"

Cassie rolled her eyes briefly before raising her hand into the air. The man understandably saw a great many students in a day, but certainly not enough to miss a girl like her. After all, with her white-blonde hair and bright silver/ice blue eyes, she wasn't exactly hard to miss. _'Makes you wonder just what kind of a teacher this man is.'_

"That would be me sir." She said, choosing to keep her snippy thoughts to herself. His personality aside, this man might end up proving to be a decent instructor, so she would reserve her cattiness for a date when her opinions could be proven either way.

"Ahh, very good. Welcome to sixth year potions my dear. I am Professor Horace Slughorn; may I ask what your name is?"

Cassie had to fight to keep from rolling her eyes at the man, though she lost the battle to keep a small smirk from her face. Hopefully the professor would simply pass that off as her being happy to be here. "Cassandra Ravenblood, professor."

"Ravenblood eh?" the aged professor mused. "You wouldn't happen to be related to Ainsley Daren Ravenblood, creator of the Manegro Potion, would you?"

Cassie rolled her eyes at the suggestion. It was not the first time it had been made in this world, but it was no less insulting. "Unlikely, professor." She replied, her tone just a fraction above freezing at the implication, eliciting looks from the majority of the class. "If you were to know anyone in my family, it would most likely be my many times Great-aunt Elthelinda Ravenblood." With her back to Draco, Cassie didn't see his back stiffen at the mention of her aunt. He knew that name.

As did the Slughorn from his visibly shocked reaction. "Ehtelinda, the great... but she was..." He couldn't even string together a simple sentence, his shock was so great.

"She was the live in apothecary for the house of Borgia." Cassandra supplied, leaning back in her seat as she prepared to elaborate. "If family history is to be believed, she was actually one of the few experts in all manner of poisons, supposedly one of the reasons Rodrigo kept her in his employ and allowed her to remain unmarried." She smirked slightly, inspecting her nails as she spoke. There was more she could have said, but such suppositions were not for the ears of the other students.

"There are rumors that Lucrezia made quite a bit of use of her talents." Slughorn breathed and Cassie grimaced. Apparently her professor did not possess the restraint she did when it came to airing her family's perceived dirty laundry in public.

"That is one theory, yes." Cassie admitted. "Although, all of _proven_ history tends to agree that she was nothing more than a healer and protector of the Borgia's" There was a slight edge to her tone, one that even Slughorn could hear. Her family's history, especially the history that was comprised of little more than supposition, had no place in the classroom.

To his credit, Slughorn at least had the decency to look a little sheepish. Properly chastised, he began to fiddle a bit with the papers on his desk. "Well, either way, if you have inherited any of her talent, you will do well in this class. Though, if you will forgive me, I will require a test of your skill set, if only to see if you require any assistance in certain areas."

"I would be amenable to that professor."

"Do you know of the potion Draught of the Living Death, my dear?" Cassie nodded, curious to see where he would take this. "I have always found it to be a fairly accurate yardstick with which to discover the skill level of an older student. The rest of the class brewed this for me last week. Do you feel up to brewing this potion for me?"

"I read over the recipe last night." Cassie said, flicking though her textbook until she found the relevant page. "And if I may say professor, I actually feel it to be a touch simplistic as a litmus test." Cassie couldn't help the slight smirk that tugged at the corner of her lip as a few gasps were heard behind her. "But if it is Draught of the Living Death that you wish to see, I will be happy to oblige."

The professor returned her smirk, perhaps believing her comment to have stemmed from a place of arrogance rather than honest assessment of the challenge. The truth was, in Ravenwood Academy, most items were crafted using potions and the students were expected to create those potions for themselves. After reading the recipe, Cassie had little doubt that she would be more than capable of producing a perfect Draught. "Well then if you would be so kind, my dear, I would appreciate it if you could begin brewing the potion, and I will give the rest of the class their assignment." Cassie nodded and got up to collect the items she needed, listening to Slughorn with half an ear. Setting aside the potions heavy curriculum at Ravenwood, she had always been interested in the subject. She came by it naturally; the interest being passed down through her family from her parents, grandparents, all the way back that they could recall. They had even gone so far as to exploring the methods of the other worlds in the spiral, the ingredients that could be used.

Cassie smirked lightly as she made her way back to her desk and began to work on the Draught and the additional classroom assignment, having snuck the extra ingredients she would need. As she began to prepare her ingredients, it appeared as though they were discussing how to brew a truth serum, known in this world as Veritaserum. Choosing for the moment to concentrate on the Draught, Cassie decided she would work on the truth potion once the Draught was done. One part of her family history that she had chosen not to reveal to Slughorn was that, since her aunt's time with the Borgia's, poisons and interrogation techniques had become her family's speciality. Veritaserum had become something she had been brewing since she was 8 years old. Granted, the recipe she had read in her text had been drastically different from the recipe she had been taught, but the principles would be the same, and she had more than a few cauldrons that she could use.

Her affinity for potions translated into a feeling of comfort while she worked, humming quietly to herself. When she had read the recipe the night before she had scoffed at the antiquated methods suggested therein. Like the idea of leaving Veritaserum to cure for a month before using it. Such a notion was ridiculous, especially when one was in need of the truth quickly. If one was to keep a supply on hand, it would be relatively easy to find and taint that supply, something that appeared to be relatively easy to do when it came to this particular recipe. Aside from that, there was the potion's ability to be resisted that made it an iffy choice as a tool. Before she had fallen asleep she had made a series of notes like this in the margins of her book, not that she needed reminders of all the things she knew, but it never hurt.

These particular potions were not exactly the most difficult to make and so; she occasionally had moments where she could allow her attention to wander. Glancing about the room, Cassie observed her fellow students battling with their potions, most just looking lost and confused. The worst appeared to be one red-headed Gryffindor student across the aisle from her who appeared to have absolutely no clue what he was doing. The scarred boy beside him appeared to be focusing all his soul on his textbook, apparently garnering some kind of inspiration from it, judging from the state of his potion. The brunette in front of him seemed to be doing similarly well, though her version was looking a bit cloudy, something Cassie expected was a result of adhering to the recipe in the book over the course of the last hour. Cassie, in the meantime, had been experiencing little trouble with her particular project, her mind thrumming under the pressure caused by brewing three potions at once. Her Draught was doing well, as was her familial truth serum recipe, but her Veritaserum was a little cloudier than she would have liked. Now, according to the author of 'Advanced Potion-Making' this would be the stage where she should bottle it and leave it to sit for a lunar cycle and it would eventually clear itself up. Cassie was not so certain. The level of the clouding in her potion worried her and so she decided to make use of a little known trick her mother had showed her before she had died. Smiling at the memories brought to mind, Cassie reached for a sprig of Thai Basil she normally kept in her book bag to keep it smelling fresh. Today it would serve a higher purpose, its oils being something her mother had discovered had the ability to aid in the blending and balancing of potions, especially if the sprig itself had reached its peak during a full moon as this one, luckily enough, had.

Her humming stopped and a smile bloomed across her face as, with a single drop of the basil's oils, her potion immediately became much clearer. Adding one more drop to clear it up entirely, Cassie bottled the rest of the oil while her three potions simmered on a low heat. Thai basil was a pain to grow, especially if one was trying to time it with the phases of the moon, so Cassie wasn't about to use up all of this up in one potion. That finished, Cassie quickly bottled her truth potion and immediately set it in a bowl of ice water she had conjured so it stopped cooking before it curdled. No one had use for curdled truth serum since it was easily discovered and had spotty results at best. The other two potions would require a bit more time on the heat before they could be bottled and so, she pulled out her text and her quill, prepared to make further corrections as she saw fit.

Now, this was not to knock the book in its entirety. In fact, Cassie had discovered a few techniques she had marked for use in the future. She wanted to see exactly how useful these techniques were since the author seemed almost addicted to a few of them. But that was for another day.

"Time is up!" the professor called after about ten minutes. "Please bottle your potions. I will evaluate them at the end of the lunar cycle." Glancing up, Cassie quickly muttered a charm to dry the ink she had been using and slipped a feather into her text to mark her place. Soon enough all her potions were sitting before her in glimmering vials awaiting judgement. She would have to have patience when it came to the Veritaserum, but her other potions had come out perfectly, if she were any judge. Now that the three bottles were lined up before her, it occurred to Cassie that her display of skill might now come across more as an attempt to show off. Which, if she were perfectly honest with herself, it was. Slughorn's earlier derision had irritated her, not to mention the amused glances he had shot her way once he had spotted her multiple cauldrons. The man had made no attempt to stop her, apparently believing that she wouldn't succeed in her endeavors, an opinion she expected was shared by those housemates seated near her.

'_Well, nothing to be done about it now.'_ Cassie thought, walking her three vials up to the professor's desk. She didn't say a word as she set them on his desk, awaiting judgement.

"Well, you have been busy my dear." The professor said; eyeing the potions she had placed before him. Cassie could feel the eyes of the other students on her back as they slowly bottled their assignments or fiddled with their things, curious to see what would happen. Slughorn, again to his credit, ignored them. "I asked you for a Draught of the Living Death and that was all, my dear girl. Would you please explain why I now have three vials sitting before me?"

Cassie arched an eyebrow at him. "Forgive me professor, but I was under the impression that you wanted an honest and comprehensive assessment of my skills. You asked for the Draught and I have delivered, but I was always under the impression that a good assessment tests a variety of abilities." Motioning to the vials, Cassie continued, attempting to ignore the feeling of eyes burning a hole in her back. "To that end, I have brought you Veritaserum as you asked of the rest of the class, along with my family's own answer to the truth serum. Feel free to use it as you like; this recipe requires no time to cure. Although," she added, staying the professor's hand as he reached for her vial. "I wouldn't suggest using it on anyone with any important secrets to keep. This particular potion is highly effective and even it's most diluted form, takes hours to wear off."

"That is an impressive claim." The professor agreed, setting that particular bottle aside. "But since we have limited time, you will forgive me if I reserve testing for a later time."

"Of course professor."

"But here, I must admit, I am very impressed." Slughorn cooed, picking up her bottle of Draught and holding it to the light. "Such a brilliant hue of pink and not a single impurity in sight. Very impressive my dear. How did you get it to mix this well with two other potions on the go?"

"I didn't use African sea salt in the initial stages of the potion, professor." Cassie replied, hoping she wouldn't have to go through this with all of her potions or they would be there for the rest of the day. "I find these days that salt taken from the Dead Sea is a great deal finer and purer than anything out of Africa, though I do admit, that's not saying much. In addition, I combined the juice of the Sophophorus bean with a few drops of the juice found in Bitter lettuce."

"Bitter lettuce... that is inspired my dear. Mr. Potter," Slughorn cried out, calling the attention of the black-haired Gryffindor student Cassie had been observing earlier. "We may have someone here to challenge even your potions prowess. I suppose only time will tell who will prove better than the other." Cassie watched as Potter nodded quietly, seemingly uncomfortable with Slughorn's praise. The brunette who had been seated in front of him though, glowered darkly at the praise Potter received and perhaps slightly at the praise Cassie was getting as well, she was unsure. Cassie merely shrugged, well used to jealousy when it came to her talents in this subject. Cassie expected that if she cared to ask, the brunette would be discovered to have been the best in every subject in previous years, a reputation earned by strictly following the steps outlined in the textbooks.

But, she didn't care, not particularly anyway. She watched, somewhat detached, as Slughorn set her vial of Veritaserum on the shelf behind him to cure for the lunar cycle. She hoped that the Thai Basil she had included wouldn't affect the end potion too much, but it was out of her hands at this point. Slughorn was suitably impressed with her skills and was unlikely to question her abilities again and that was all she really cared about. When he finally dismissed her, after insisting that she join him and a number of his favored students for dinner at some point in the future, she made quick work of gathering up her ingredients and books. As she did, she caught Draco staring at her, an odd look on his face. Cassie wasn't sure what meant or what it was that caused that look to surface, whether it was the exact discovery of who it was she was related to or her prowess when it came to potions she wasn't sure, but it certainly was better than him being annoyed at her. "Something I can help you with Draco?" she asked blithely as she slipped her text into her bag.

Something in her tone must have shaken Draco free from his train of thought because, no sooner were the words out of her mouth, than the shutters behind Draco's eyes slammed down on his thoughts. "No." He replied, coldly, but falling into step beside her nevertheless. "You seemed to impress him."

"Not exactly hard to do when you've received the tutelage I have in that particular subject for your entire life."

"I suppose so."

Cassie sighed in resignation. They had reached the point in their journey where they would have to part ways; she to Herbology, Draco to wherever the hell he was headed. "You sound as though you have something to ask me Draco. Am I correct? Or am I hearing more than there is in your voice?"

As Cassie looked at him, she could have sworn on her master's scythe that he hesitated a moment. He almost appeared to question himself, to have a moment of pure and human vulnerability, if only for a split second in time before he seemed to shake himself loose. "No. You're reading too much into my words."

Cassie wasn't sure, but she decided to be satisfied with what she thought she had seen. "Well then, I apologize for that." She said, hitching her bag a little further onto her shoulder. "I'll see you at dinner tonight I suppose. Have a good day Draco."

With that, Cassie spun on her heel, swiftly striding down the opposite hallway. Draco watched her go, wondering for a moment, what exactly it had been that had caused him to hesitate. He had to admit, he was rather distracted lately... and there was something about her... _'NO!'_ he thought, throwing his head back and marching off in the direction of his next class. _'He gave this task to ME! My father was too incompetent to complete it before he got caught and so now I have to finish what he couldn't. I can't tell anyone, much less someone I know nothing about. He would kill me.'_ The last thought to cross his mind left a grim visage over Draco's whole being in its wake. It caused a foul mood to infect him; one that he was sure would be hard to shake.


End file.
